The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Minister of State for Housing and Planning have written to all council leaders announcing the first allocations from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The letter provides additional funding to strengthen councils’ skills and capacity, urges greater ambition in delivering new council homes and asks councils to submit information that can support future targeted assistance. The programme is expected to evolve over its 10-year lifetime, with a stronger focus on devolution and council housing delivery. Earlier programme correspondence had been described as notifying private registered providers of initial allocations, while this letter is specifically addressed to councils.